Perhaps Mac. Colvins would like to respond to this one.

If, as it is claimed, God is all powerful and all knowing, why did he (or she) permit/cause the tsunami and the resultant disaster?  Or is this, perhaps, the work of the Devil.  Even so, why did “The Almighty” permit it?

Just asking.

Maris D.

Tsunami is a part of the educational process that God is continuously conducting on mankind.  The consequences of the tsunami is the occasion to contemplate what God is trying to teach us by permitting such disaster to happen. What did we do wrong, or what could we have done better?  The victims were no better or worse than the rest of us.  A disaster could have hit any of us, anytime, anywhere, so, please, think how we could have made our lives more sublime to avoid the anger of God!!!

>  A disaster could have hit any of us,
>anytime, anywhere, so, please, think how we could have
>made our lives more sublime to avoid the anger of God!!!

Seskis.

Dear Seskis,

OK, then, this makes our God a vindictive, capricious, somewhat “evil” God, far from a benevolent, loving God.

If God were all-knowing then, presumably, He/She would know in advance what our response would be to this “test”, so why put us through it?  If all-powerful as well as all-knowing, then why did He/She not make us more perfect in the first place, and not needing to be “tested”?  Did He/She “set us up” to fail?

You see, whichever way you look at it, it just doesn’t jell.

Maris D.

>Perhaps Mac. Colvins would like to respond to this one.
>
>If, as it is claimed, God is all powerful and all
>knowing, why did he (or she) permit/cause the tsunami
>and the resultant disaster?  Or is this, perhaps, the
>work of the Devil.  Even so, why did “The Almighty”
>permit it?
>
>Just asking.
>
>Maris D.

It was inevitable that this question would arise.
There is no simple answer to questions such as these.
Why does God permit suffering on any scale be it one or thousands?
All is a direct result of the Fall. We live in a world that is subject to all sorts of problems.
Man chose to defy God in the garden of Eden and these things are consequences of that.
Those who believe in Biblical prophesies will know that all of these things are a part of the signs of the end times.
I still haven’t answered the why does God permit it?
I don’t know, but I do know that it is a demonstration of the awful consequence of mans disobedience and sin. Had man not sinned in the first place none of this would have happened and we would live in a perfect world.
Is God telling us and teaching us something?
I believe so.
Firstly that we are but dust and not as mighty as we like to think. We do not have control over many things.
Secondly: The over whelming generosity and concern and love shown by so many demonstrates that we ultimately do care and are able to work together regardless of race or creed.
What should our response be?
To committ ourselves to God and to live for Him knowing that whatever happens we are secure in Him.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/understanding.html

pete

Maris Dabars et al.,

Demanding that pravests Collins gives you an answer is somewhat little like the devil confronting Jesus. One has to contemplate these   questions in ones own mind .  Perhaps the tragedy happened to let mankind know that the wrath of God is the wrath of God and not that of man.

I started the new year by not cursing God, but little men with mediocre minds, with or without mustaches or other facial hair, who are responsible for starting events in the world over which they have no control.  Their ideas are like the tsunami that looks very pretty till it hits land bringing death and destruction.  They act like gods, but they are just messengers of Death.  Curse them.

Bruno the Lett
 

Happy New Year you all, who have not incurred the wrath of God and have been spared the Tsunami…
  First, thank You PB for giving that web site and injecting a bit of science in this celestial discussion.There must have been far more destructive earth quakes when the tectonic plates collided and created the Himalayas, Alps et c. But there were no men on earth in those days, so the wrath of God was not involved….
  I find it strange. The old Greeks believed that if there was a storm in the sea, it meant that Poseidon was angry and needed to be placated by sacrifices and/or prayers.
  Similarly, if there was thunder, it meant that Zeus, or Thor, or Perkons were angry, and needed to be placated.
  To day we no longer involve God in these things. We know of high and low pressure zones and have some understanding of how and why weather patterns develop. Similarly, we know of how electric induction and discharge work and no longer ascribe thunder and lightning to Zeus or Thor or Perkons. We also know how tectonic plates behave, but if men suffer in an earthquake then this is God’s punishment for Adams Sin… ;-( And amazingly, if some old Jewish priest wrote that a swarm of locusts or a draught was sent by God, we are expected to believe that without question…. Wonder why? ... There is a locust plague in Palestine right now, but the Jews are not involving God in that, as far as I know…
  There is a story that some anonymous schoolboy was once asked to expain what is faith. Reportedly, he came up with:
  “Faith is believing something You really know is not so..”
    Old heretic Celsus, who believes in a different kind of God…
 

In case you missed hearing this on the evening news, a high ranking Muslim cleric announed that the tsunami is Allah’s wrath for the sinful life the West has brought to the region. Luxury hotels that cater to the westerners, with their prostitution, nudity, booze and gambling. Wonder how Las Vegas got spared all these years.

their prostitution, nudity, booze and gambling. Wonder how Las Vegas got spared all these years.

Arija
//////////////////////////////////////

location, location and location….........LOL

pete

If you read The Bible carefully, you’ll see that the Jews always accepted responsibility for God’s punishment and tried to do better in the future.  As the result, the Jewish peoples are among the most successful on Earth financially, scientifically and artistically.  Logical or not, accepting responsibility for disasters and trying to do better works wonders in the long run.

Celsus, Happy New Year to you as well, but… whoa!

Can you cite me tautas dziesmas (or other Dievturibas sources) that suggest “placating Perkons”??

Thanks,
Anita

p.s.  Bruno, I agree with you on your summary of the original question.  And on condemning those with small minds.  No matter where they live and whose “side” they are on.  And thanks mac. Colvin for your input as well, including the questions that remain.  Anybody who claims to have all the answers MUST be deluding themselves!!

Do not forget that God has plans for mankind and the rest of the living and nonliving world. Those we can neither comprehend nor visualize.  He is directing the evolution of mankind in His own way.  Like any honest teacher, He has to stick to his own standards on achievement.  It may pain Him horribly to see his students fail, but He has to be honest with Himself and His creation, even though, like a teacher, he has the power to give a failing student a passing grade.

Dear All,

It seems to me that the lesson of the Tsunami is “Carpe Diem”, rather than self-flagellation for any putative sins.

It would appear (from these pages) that the ecclesiatics among us are no more able to explain why hundreds of thousands innocents must suffer capricious disasters than are our scientists able to predict their occurrence.

Carpe Diem!  Live, laugh, and be merry (while you can), for tomorrow we die!

Maris D.

To Anita, re: post No10.
Dear Anita,
I dont have the Dainas or Dievturis materials. But here is an article from Enc. Britannica on Perkons. He does belong to the same family of Gods…

(Latvian: “Thunderer”), Lithuanian Perkunas, Old Prussian Perkunis, sky deity of Baltic religion, renowned as the guardian of law and order and as a fertility god. The oak, as the tree most often struck by lightning, is sacred to him. Perkons is related in functions and image to the Slavic Perun, Germanic Thor, and Greek Zeus.
Often depicted as a vigorous, bearded man holding an ax, Perkons rides across the sky striking fire with his two-wheeled chariot and bringing rain. In the spring his lightning purifies the earth and stimulates plant growth. Perkons also directs his thunderbolts against evil spirits and unjust men and even disciplines the gods. Lithuanian legend recounts that when Menuo, the moon god and husband of Saule, goddess of the Sun, committed adultery, Perkunas punished his infidelity by cutting him to pieces.
According to ancient tradition, thunderbolts—“bullets of Perkons,” found buried in the ground as flint or bronze celts—or any object or person struck by lightning could be used by mortals as protection against devils or as cures for toothache, fever, and fright. Probably the most popular of all Baltic gods, Perkunas is often referred to in Lithuanian as dievaitis, an archaic diminutive of dievas (“god”).
Copyright

Celsus et al.,

With reference to Perkons:

Perkons is not referred to as a god in the dainas and was not worshipped. At times he is referred to as one of the sons of God. God in the dainas at times is beseeched to reign in his unruly son Perkons.  The sons of God (Dieva dēli) are frequently mentioned in the dainas.  It is unfortunate that in a different culture and language characteristics are ascribed that in the original language do not exist.

            Tu, Pērkons, gudris vīris,
            Kur būs man to izmazgāt(svārkus)?
            Mazgā, Māra, tei upēi,
            Kur deviņas atteciņas.

The above daina deals with the significance of the number nine and Perkons is mentioned as a wise man ,in passing.  It does offer a brief glimpse into the mind set of the ancient letts.

            Dod Dieviņ otram dot,
            Ne no viņu mīļi dot.

Dieviņš here is a diminutive form of endearment for Dievs.  It does not mean that ” a little god” in the corner of a room is addressed.  In the dainas God is not viewed with fear at whose mention one should cover the head and tremble ,as in the bible.

Visu labu,

Bruno the Lett

I am no expert on Dainas. But it is possible that the different Baltic peoples, the Latvians, Lithuanians and Prussians had also different perceptions of ‘Perkons’. The Slavic ‘Peruns’ is also a relative…
  But this is drifting away from the issue: that reasonably well understood natural processes are presented as intentional acts of God acting within and defending a given theological framework.
  Visu labu, Celsus.